


gamers dont need sunlight

by mitsuzane



Category: Kagerou Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Fluff, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:28:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21962119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mitsuzane/pseuds/mitsuzane
Summary: Shintaro and Takane get a couple of... well, completely expected visitors.for kagebros discord secret santa! :3
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	gamers dont need sunlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yoomsthefool](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoomsthefool/gifts).



> merry christmas, yooms!! :D i hope u enjoy ur december celebrations... thank you for writing me such a great secret valentine's gift way earlier this year, pls have this thing for ur shintaro and takane are roommates post-str AU,,
> 
> (it's actually the 26th over here, but,, i think it's still the 25th in US time zones, right?)

"What the hell is this?"

Shintaro squints in the afternoon sunlight. Too bright. So dazzling. Although the sky is clouded over, and he shivers in the wintry cold, the _light..._ it's relentless, compared to the sweet dimness of the apartment he shares with a certain fellow gamer. It takes a couple of seconds for his eyes to adjust to the light, but it's unnecessary - he can tell who it is just from the silhouettes. There's not _that_ many people who might come to visit.

"Good afternoon, Shintaro!" Haruka says cheerfully. He's holding a large bowl of salad, covered in cling film, which Shintaro almost immediately finds placed into his arms.

"So? Can we come in?" And if that wasn't enough, Ayano's mysterious carrying bags and beatific smile immediately activates Shintaro's fight-or-flight instinct.

"Uh," Shintaro says.

Judging by how Shintaro is pushed to the side, Ayano seems to take that for a yes. So this is how it feels for your home to fall under invasion... Something stirs in the recesses of the hallway, and footsteps pad down the wooden floorboards. 

Takane looks like she's just gotten out of bed - she's still in her pyjamas, yawning, hair unbrushed. "Huh? What's happening?"

"Redecoration time!" Haruka sings.

Blinking, Takane shrugs. "Doesn't sound like it concerns me. Well, have fun, Shintaro!" She turns to shuffle back to her room, and Shintaro could swear there's a hint of smugness in her voice.

Fine. Fine, so he's been abandoned. He has no idea what's going on, but he's certain it's not something he wants to be facing along... so much for the unbreakable bonds of gamerhood. Grumbling, he turns to Ayano. "What gives you the right t...?"

There's something in her eyes that makes the words wither in Shintaro's throat. Subtly, he tries to shrink into the wall. In a dignified way, of course. But despite his best efforts, he can still hear Haruka isn't quite successful in trying to muffle quiet laughter. Well, at least he tries. Unlike certain other gamers that he could name.

"So, Shintaro," Ayano says, and her eyes are gleaming. "Have you ever thought about installing some tailored pleat curtains?"

"What are you doing to my house," Shintaro says flatly. He's made the mistake of glancing up at the... _functional_ pair, who've been cheerfully making reintroductions between the pleasant afternoon sunlight and the dimmest corners of their living space. It's been a long, long, while since the two had last had contact. Well, assuming that 'when Haruka came around a few days ago' can be counted as 'a long, long, while'; but it's the thought that counts.

"Redecorating," Haruka chirps, from where he's sitting on the carpet. He's sliding clips onto a new curtain at an alarmingly efficient pace. The colour is probably called... powder almond, or something like that? Shintaro had spaced out as soon as the words 'tailored pleat' had reached his ears, frankly. He remembers being temporarily roused at the mention of food, only to be rapidly cast back into his previously lightless state of existence at the realisation that Ayano was talking about colour choices.

"Here, Shintaro," Ayano says, grinning. She walks over to the couch to dump a mass of fabric next to him, barely avoiding Haruka's lovingly-prepared salad. "Hold onto the old curtains: they seem like they might come in useful in the apocalypse or something."

Shintaro flops back down, staring blankly at the ceiling. What was wrong with their interior decoration in the first place? Sure, maybe blackout curtains aren't exactly at the height of stylish avant-garde interior design, but it's not like this room ever sees much use! They're gamers! Why do gamers need sunlight! Or stylish curtains. Or salad. He glares at the bowl of... _vegetables_ , silently daring it to. To...

"Shintaro," Haruka calls, interrupting his angst-fueled reverie. 

"Hwah?" Shintaro blinks.

"Come help us hang these fairy lights up!"

"...Fairy lights?"

"Shintaro." Ayano chides, "Did you forget the major seasonal event happening next week?"

"Uh," Shintaro racks his memory for what Ayano might be referring to. Seasonal event... he's reminded of an ongoing campaign in an online game he plays with Takane. Specifically... "Christmas?"

"That's right!" Ayano beckons. "No, actually, Haruka - you go get Takane in here. It's well past the time you two should've been wide awake already, you know."

"Roger that," Haruka says, and then Shintaro is left alone with Ayano.

"How've you been doing recently?" he asks, just to fill up the sudden empty space. And hopefully the potential conversation, which might otherwise have veered towards dangerously furniture-flavoured territory.

"Pretty well, actually," she grins. "Recently--"

"Hey, Shitnaro, Ayano," Takane calls. "Oh. Sorry, was I interrupting?"

"Someone's energetic," Shintaro mutters, glaring. "I'm not going to forget that breach of gamer code back there, you know, right? How could you abandon me like that?"

"Gamer code," Takane echoes.

"Gamer code."

"Gamer code!" Haruka chips in.

Ayano giggles. "Don't worry about it. Should we get to decorating?"

"Right," someone says, and then there's small colourful lights and wires to untangle and laughter and talking and it really truly feels almost like the old days. They're undeniably different now, though, so no - there's happiness here, yeah, but it's a different sort. A sort that they're all actively building for themselves. He can't say whether or not it's really better than the one they took for granted, but he wouldn't trade it for the world.

Time passes too quickly, and before Shintaro knows it, the lights have been strung up and the mini plastic tree glitters in the corner of the room _(Where did you get this, anyway?" "Let's just say... we have_ connections. _" "It's a plastic christmas tree!")_. "So," he says, inspecting their handiwork. "Now the part of the apartment we don't use can be nice and festive, while us inhabitants retreat to the comfort of the gamer cave?"

"Sounds about right!" Ayano nods. "We can work on that 'cave' part, by the way."

"Well, we should probably get going now," Haruka grins, cutting in before Ayano can unleash too much in-terror-ior design on Shintaro's trembling psyche. "It was fun!"

"You guys are coming to the christmas party, right?" Ayano pauses in gather up her bags to tilt her head inquisitively at them.

"Course we are," Takane says, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Seeya there!"

And then it's like the intruders - sorry, guests - have vanished like ghosts, suffused with the impression of sunlight, leaving in their wake nothing but a slightly-chill breeze. Nothing, that is, and salad. And curtains. And christmas decorations. And. Yeah. Shintaro turns to Takane.

"So," he says, gesturing to the bowl still left on the sofa. It's not exactly standard gamer fare, but - "want that green stuff for breakfast?"

**Author's Note:**

> etc. etc. obligatory plugging of my social media... [my twitter](https://www.twitter.com/idolacircuus) (that i rarely use tbh) and [my tumblr](https://f1ghtforjudge.tumblr.com) ,, also [the discord server this is for](https://discord.gg/5NvUQSP)


End file.
